Medical scanners and medical imaging machines are an integral part of modern medical practice. These scanners and medical imaging devices utilize both electromagnetic radiation and sonic wave to produce images which are viewed by doctors for the diagnosis and care of patients. For example, ultrasound machines are useful for viewing fetuses during prenatal care in a pregnancy or blood flow patterns in arteries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are useful for producing images of a wide range of soft tissues.
In a large hospital, medical scanners and medical imaging devices are preferably networked with a central image management system, such as a picture archival and communications system (PACS). The PACS is designed to provide a central storage for archive for medical images. Further, PACS is configured so that stored images may be retrieved. Typically, a hospital will have a single PACS that is networked with a plurality of medical scanners and medical imaging devices located throughout the hospital. Further, the PACS will be networked with a plurality of image workstations, such as a PACS workstation. Images generated by medical scanners and medical imaging devices are transferred to the PACS for storage and later retrieval and review by doctors located throughout the hospital at any of the plurality of image workstations.
Conventionally, doctors or users of image workstations (e.g., PACS workstations) were able to view only two dimensional image renderings of the images retrieved from the PACS. Three dimensional image rendering was restricted to three dimensional rendering on stand alone workstations dedicated for three dimensional graphics processing. Further, because of the restriction to stand alone workstations, conventional three dimensional graphics processing was not carried out on PACS workstation therefore image information and data could not be simply received from the PACS server. Further, because the 3D processing is conventionally carried out on stand alone workstations, the PACS has not been used to store 3D image information.
Therefore, there is a need for an image workstation that is in communication with the PACS server and is configured to carry out 3D processing thereon. Further, there is a need for an image workstation that is capable of receiving image information from the PACS server and constructing a 3D image rendering, and communicating the 3D image rendering (or 3D image rendering parameters) to the PACS server for storage and later retrieval.